Blog or Website- which is best for making money?

originalkat

Hello everyone

Could you advise me as to which has the best chance of generating an income? Please bear in mind that my computer skills are very basic-for all I know blogs and websites might be the same thing!! I don't do twitter, don't have a mobile phone but might be able to manage Facebook with some tuition from my daughter.

My situation is this
I have been made redundant and I am jobless after today but I want to take this opportunity to have an adventure. I am single and my children have left home, the last of them this month,one has emigrated and another is almost half way through a two year working holiday. I am going to travel, to see them and some more of the world, first renting out my home to keep the (huge) mortgage paid. The problem is I need an income to keep some bills paid at home and to fund the travelling. I have some ideas but I have been looking here for more. The blogger info reminded me that several people have asked me if I am going to have a blog or website to share my adventures. It looks as if this could also be an, albeit small, source of income.

Any advice for an absolute beginner would be appreciated, blog or website, any pitfalls, how much does it cost to set them up or where could I find out. Thanks for reading.

redned_2

sorry to hear that but good to see you're turning it into a positive.

Websites can be set up fairly cheaply, what would you want to do with it?

You could possibly blog about your travels and then have affiliate links for related products and adverts for travel companies etc. But I think it takes quite a lot of work and time for blogs to generate an income.

Not sure if Im allowed to mention books but I think it will be of interest. I read a book recently called get out while you can. Its aimed at people who dont want to work nine to five and guides you through some different ways of making money - with reasonably small costs and walks you through setting up blogs and websites among other things. It is very simple to follow advice and mostly seemed to make sense to me, although I should say I haven't actually had time to set anything up yet - too much going on (will do when I get 5 minutes though). I would probably suggest to read that as it explains how to do stuff and then you can choose what you think will suit you best.

I hope this is of some help. good luck!

GavB79

Blogs are strictly speaking websites - they are sites on the internet. But websites are not all blogs.
You can set up Blogger or Wordpress blogs for free to get a taste of what you are doing, then move to self-hosting if you enjoy it.
As well as lifestyle blogging books, there are also plenty of technical guides on how to create a blog/website rather than just discussing what content to put on. Be careful because some books assume prior knowledge and it sounds like you want the basic beginner stuff.

Oh, and you should only be treating this as a hobby not a guaranteed income stream! If it was that easy to earn a full-time wage from being a complete novice everyone would be doing it.

Mivin

Blogs can be useful in getting an idea or opinion by voicing your views. From that, you can create a website based on the inputs.

mismax

There is another thread on here on the same subject, I wrote some advice based on my own experiences to someone else who is considering doing the same thing.

I would agree with the previous poster - start a blog to get an idea how to do it, then as you learn more you can srart static sites. Be prepared for a very steep learning curve though!

originalkat

Thanks everyone, sounds as if a blog is the way to go for an absolute beginner. I'll have a look for 'get out while you can' and I have just taken a quick peek at the Google site for setting up a blog, might be able to manage that if I have an undisturbed morning/day to work on it!! I realise it is only going to make me a small amount if anything but lots of small sources of income can add up to enough money to pay some bills as we all know. I am thinking of teaching English with a Pompey accent as a main source of income and I have been pricing up the TEFL courses. I have 30 years experience of hosting foreign students and have enjoyed helping them improve their English so I'll see how that goes. The more I can earn though the more nights I sleep in a dorm instead of on a park bench!!

Pippip_2

Hi OriginalKat

I just read your message and I'm sorry to hear about your recent redundancy. I applaud you for wanting to turn things around!

I read that you're thinking about teaching English on your travels. I thought I would tell you about my experiences doing this.

South Korea has been my home for the past two years whilst I've been teaching English at a High School. You can do this if you have a BA/Bsc and are a native English speaker. I've had my ups and downs here but overall the experience has been worthwhile. I was able to pay off around 3000 GBP debt within about 6 months of arriving. Since then I have been able to save around 10000 GBP. The cost of living here is quite cheap, along as you don't spend all your money on imported foods and items.

I've been able to save the majority of my money through the fact that I don't have to pay any rent. The school I work for pays for my apartment. Added to this, they pay for round-trip airfare and give you around 1000 GBP per month salary. There are a few downsides though, mainly the fact that you have to sign up for an entire year. The others involve Korean bureaucracy and sometimes feeling very isolated because you don't speak the local language.

If you're thinking about teaching English then South Korea is definately worth a thought. Through my research I know this is the place that pays the best if you don't have a Masters degree in English or are already a qualified teacher in the UK. I would recommend working for a public school in Korea. The private schools (hagwon in Korean) are notorious for ripping teachers off.

I'm not too sure if I can post links to other websites here but check out Daves ESL Cafe if you want some further information about teaching English abroad. There is a wealth of knowledge on that site.

As for your question about starting a blog or website I would definately say that you need to find your niche. There are a million different travel blogs and websites on the internet. I'm sure that not many of them make money. Although saying that a small regret I have is not starting a blog about Korean life when I came here. The ones I read are written by Americans or Canadians. There doesn't seem to be a popular expat one from a British perspective!

A great example of how to go about setting this sort of thing up and making money from it is Eat Your Kimchi. They have become English Teacher celebrities here in Korea. You can hear their story here on Youtube if you search for simonandmartinabonus Airang TV.

I used this website when I first arrived in Korea and over the past two years they have built up a following of over 24,000 people on Facebook. As the guy says in the interview he has now been able to quit is job teaching. His wife will soon be able to do the same. They're able to live off the money generated from posting videos on Youtube. Each time it is viewed they get some money for the advertising you see at the start.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Like I said at the start I applaud your efforts to turn things around. My dad was recently made redundant from a job he had for over 20 years. It hit our family hard so I wanted to pass on some advice to someone in a similar situation.

originalkat

Loads of info, thank you. Have you got a TEFL qualification and do you consider it essential for South Korea? I do have a BSc and a postgrad diploma but I'm not sure that waste management and sustainability are of any use. Trying to save cash so won't do the TEFL if there is a chance of getting work without it. I don't want to commit to a year in one place and I am wondering if there is any opportunity anywhere to teach conversational skills rather than classroom lessons, have you any experience of this? My students, especially the adults, often say that once you have the basics of English, what you need is the chance to have conversations with someone to help you out when you get stuck. I'll be looking at the sites you suggested and perhaps they will be able to give me some ideas. Kat

Pippip_2

I would definately recommend that you read Daves ESL Cafe. There is so much information about teaching English there. They have international forums for all of the popular countries where you can teach English.

I know what you mean about teaching conversation rather than classroom lessons. Unfortunately, due to visa restrcitions, this is frowned upon in Korea. People still do it but you can have your visa revoked and receive a fine if you're caught.

You could think about coming here to do a short-term summer or winter camp. This is not the type of camp that we would expect. Basically, it's just the same as regular school lessons but takes place during the vacation periods (Koreans are obsessed by education).

As far as getting a TEFL, I decided to do this. The only part I took away from it is how to go about planning a lesson. In my particular situation the teenagers I teach have a very poor grasp of English. I had to start at a very low-level with them so what I learnt in my TEFL was useless.

Good luck!

MikeR71

Pippip,
That's very interesting and thanks for sharing your experience about Korea.
I have a question though. What is immigration control for British citizens? Do you need a work permit to earn money in Korea? I assume you do and the school you work for organised this for you. But how about anyone else arriving without the support of a school or company? Do you know how easy it is to get a work permit in Korea and the right of abode?

Thanks.

davidjwest

To answer the original question, in my experience websites are more profitibale than blogs.

I have one site that generates around £50 a month whereas my blog only generates about £10 on average. However, this is a small sample of course!

I would say blogs probably generate an income more quickly though, it only took about 3 months for it to start earning but the websites take longer, 6 months to a year on average.

Why not try doing both?